The media should stop reporting what Harry Reid says

posted at 4:01 pm on April 5, 2014 by Dustin Siggins

One of the most important jobs of the media is to be the so-called “fourth estate” — an unofficial fourth branch of government that holds the three official branches accountable. Ideally, this would take place when reporters provide a look at reality when politicians lie, despite pressure from the same politicians to not report the truth.

However, there is another way to hold a politician accountable: Stop taking the politician seriously by not reporting what he or she said. I propose that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has long passed the point of “unseriousness” to “harmful to society,” and this should be reflected in reporters and editors refusing to publish what he says.

Consider just a handful of truly harmful things Reid has done or said in the last few weeks, and one example from 2012:

In 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) received some level of infamy for claiming that Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes for a decade. Naturally, the charges were not backed by any evidence, yet the mainstream media treated Reid’s comments as though they had legitimacy. At the time, I asked if Reid had violated Senate Ethics rules by essentially campaigning on the Senate floor.

More recently, Townhall’s Guy Benson hammered Reid for using his Koch brothers obsession as an excuse to block amendments to the unemployment insurance that is set to pass the Senate on Monday. As Guy put it in his headline: “Old Man Still Muttering Incoherently About Koch Brothers”

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough attached Reid’s tactic as “the stupidest strategy” he has seen, but most mainstream and liberal media outlets have taken Reid seriously. They’ve done this despite the probable abuse of power Reid’s statements are, and Ed’s point that at least one of Reid’s anti-Koch efforts likely violates Senate Ethics rules.

Of course, it’s not just the Kochs Reid has gone after recently. He’s also gone after the people sharing how the Affordable Care Act is hurting them — and then denied doing so. If you want to read about how arrogant and abusive of power this is, check out Guy’s excellent takedown of Reid here. Justifiably and rightly, Guy is and was furious, and so should the rest of us be.

Reid’s Koch habit — yes, yes, I used the cliched term; I couldn’t help it — includes accusing the Koch brothers of associating with companies that circumvent sanctions on Iran. Lachlan Markay of the Washington Free Beacon showed that Reid has taken campaign donations from companies doing the exact same thing.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reiterated his “no negotiations” stance on the Democratic proposal to boost the minimum-wage to $10.10 per hour, despite calls for a deal from some red-state Democrats up for reelection in 2014.

“No, there are none. Nope,” Reid told reporters following a minimum-wage rally with union members and other Democratic leaders. “The reason we picked that number, $10.10, gets you out of poverty — $10 doesn’t. $10.05 doesn’t. We didn’t pick that number just to be fun.” The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

You know what would actually help people get out of poverty? Eliminating the minimum wage so low-skilled minorities could work more, or repealing the Affordable Care Act, or tax reform, or cutting the budget, or pretty much anything else that wouldn’t increase the cost of employees for employees. And does anyone believe Reid picked a $10.10 hourly wage because that’s the way to help people out of poverty, rather than reasons of political gamesmanship? Why not go to $20/hour, Senator?

Like the lies of President Obama on pretty much everything — whether his views on spying on Americans; war without authorization from Congress; fiscal responsibility; and the alleged benefits of the Affordable Care Act — the media would actually be doing its job to not report on what Reid says. But if it must report, fact-checks should accompany what is said in its articles and editorials, not simply an unchallenged and uncorrected reporting of these lies and other brazen violations of the public trust.

I disagree, the media should do its job and start challenging him on this. The only reason he does this, and gets away with it, is because he’s never challenged to provide proof. In the Romney incident, the press never challenged him on it, they just reported what he said.

I suppose, to a certain extent, that’s wrong, but the fact is their job requires them to get to the truth and, when you know the Senate Majority Leader is lying, you should be exposing those lies. Our press is so morally bankrupt printing their newspapers and airing their news broadcasts is a waste of space.

Sure, he’s a huge jerk. There’s a tradition of electing spokesmen, especially union leaders, like this. Big mouths. Pelosi and Reid, they were the worst, what a toxic duo. Biden and Obama, not much better. We have Boehner and McConnell, they have some decency, some dignity. Reid … he’s the worst! Tells you something about Democrats that they voted for him to represent them.

Why would you pull a liberal stunt and try to stifle Hairy Reed? Every time he speaks, he tells everyone with more than two brain cells how far the dems have fallen — that this pathetic creature is the most powerful democrat in the legislative branch.

Sure, his base eats it up (since they don’t have two brain cells), but the normal folks (even LIVs), are starting to realize that the man is an idiot.

I think Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should go on live TV and debate and discuss the issues of the world between the two of them.
After the show is over I think the US people would do a collective, “Oh my god, they are both nuts, totally insane.”

I propose that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has long passed the point of “unseriousness” to “harmful to society,” and this should be reflected in reporters and editors refusing to publish what he says.

Nah…let the pederast continue to lie and make an ass out of himself. Sooner or later he’ll be gone, and we won’t have the hilarity that the old phart provides us with during this God-awful depression that we are mired in.

The media stopped being the fourth estate 5+ years ago. Hoping they will ever be that again is futile. The best we can hope for is that they actually do the job they are “supposed” to do…… report the news. And Harry Reid is the Senate majority leader. Everything he says is news. They should continue to report what he says.

Besides, what he says doesn’t hurt my side. Except on occasion when I laugh.

The MSM/press corps sidelining Reid in this way would be like Bill Belichick benching Tom Brady, i.e. he’s invaluable to the MSMDEM team & he’s doing exactly what’s being asked of him by his superiors.

The best way to deal with Harry Reid is to take over the Senate, put his office in a Capitol basement broom closet, and slam his head into the proverbial turnbuckle if he so much as opens his mouth.

The MSM will never challenge Reid because he is carrying water for Obama.

His caucus will never stand up to Reid because they are terrified of him, and the dirt he has on them

The only recourse is to call, call every dem senator office by ordinary people after Reid hurls more lies and invective. The members cannot make Reid stop, but they will learn quickly that they are playing a heavy price for him.

He also accused the Koch Brothers of aiding Putin’s invasion and conquer of Crimea, along with preventing the US from delivering a $1 billion loan guarantee. Insane McVain, another old, demented fool, made a speech on the floor condemning his ‘disgraceful’ party for not coming to the aid of the Ukrainians.

Problem was: The House had already passed a ‘clean’ bill. The Senate’s version included IMF ‘reforms’ that the White House had trying to get passed since 2010. If you are asking why they haven’t been able to get the reforms past in the previous 3 years, it might just be because they would see the role of the United States in the IMF diminished while increasing our financial contributions.

It was Harry Reid who was holding up passage and the revolting Sen Way-Past-Sell-By-Date from Arizona was played like a Stradivarius and, once again, berated the wrong people.

The Koch Brothers, the Tea Party, the ‘Hobbits,’ Ted Cruz/Rand Paul/Mike Lee, Americans for Prosperity, Republicans, Libertarians, Conservatives, nor the Crimean-American baker down on the high street were preventing the passage of the aid package. Harry Reid and Barack Obama were. They figured that, since no one would want to deny help to the Ukrainians, they would go ahead and add an Amendment that would, yet again, be harmful to America and bring her down a few notches.

While Reid may be able to hide behind the Speech & Debate Clause when he is on the Senate floor, he doesn’t have that protection elsewhere, including what he writes on his website or in mailings. The Koch Brothers have the many billions of dollars to make Dingy Harry’s life a living hell, if they so choose. I don’t even think Reid would find much solace in New York Times v Sullivan because I think that his actual malice towards the Koch Brothers is clear and present.

As for Insane McVain, once again he finds himself on the wrong side of history while spewing the most vicious of venom at those in the right.

I am not one that celebrates deaths of people and found the display following Baroness Thatcher’s passing hateful, disgraceful and undignified. Hell, even Shirley Temple got it good by many on the Left, who called her a racist for making black men dance with her in her movies…as though a 6 year-old was in charge of productions at 20th Century Fox.

When both Dingy and Insane keel over for the last time, I can only hope that I will be able to contain my glee and, at least, not appear like the savages on the Left. I must admit, however, that it will likely take enormous willpower since I consider both these men to be traitors to the Republic and the Constitution.

I disagree. Reid’s insane rantings should be quoted ad nauseum. He should be held up as the exemplar of how low our Congress has sunk. He should be the poster boy for out of control, out of touch, out of his freaking mind government. People should be reminded every day of the lies he spread about Romney, the Koch’s and all the other people he has abused his power and privilege to smear. Of the personal vendettas he has used his power to indulge in. Of the corrupt career that has made him fabulously rich while acting as our “public servant.”

No Sir, the press should not keep quiet about this disgraceful, old dinosaur. The press should be reminding the public every single day that, as bad as he is, he is but one of a great many in DC who are the cause of America’s suffering, loss of prestige, lack of security and catastrophic finances.

Don’t forget Harry Reid was the model for Dick Smothers’ sleazy “Senator” character in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino”, originally called “Harrison Roberts”. You know, the one shown getting comped chips and hookers by mob casino bosses.

But if it must report, fact-checks should accompany what is said in its articles and editorials, not simply an unchallenged and uncorrected reporting of these lies and other brazen violations of the public trust.

That only applies to journalists

These are propagandists, and Reid is perfect for them

When Hitler blasted the Juden, the propagandists passed it on. It fed the needs of the mob and built his constituency.

Harry Reid continually demonstrates himself a fool, but the voters of Nevada continue to put him in the office for which he is clearly ethically and mentally unfit. It speaks volumes about the state of the Democratic party that he serves as its primary mouthpiece.

Regarding the media, they appear indifferent to whether he speaks the truth or not. They simply parrot his words with little to no journalistic integrity.

The glaring mistake that you make in this column is that Harry Reid is a Democrat. Therefore in the media narrative he is completely exempt from hypocrisy, lying, violation of ethics, breaking the law, or being utterly corrupt.

Because his opponents are Republicans, conservatives, and limited government types who are all unredeemably EVIL!!!, Harry Reid and other Democrats are justified in anything they do to stand against the hordes of racist, homophobic, climate change-denying, redneck, heartless, misogynistic, profit motivated, religious whackos who vote Republican.

The media have proven time and time again that they will say anything, do anything to protect Democrats. They relentlessly dog and harass Republicans for the smallest infraction while deliberately not covering huge stories that harm their pet causes (Gosnell, Cali Dem Lee etc). They know for an absolute fact that people are being harmed by Obamacare but when Reid calls them liars then a few weeks later he denies he ever did, they do nothing. I want MSM newspapers, networks, magazines wiped off the face of the earth. At this point just as with Obamacare all MSM outlets need to be destroyed and replaced.

Actually, the Fourth Estate is a bad history joke. (That’s a joke that’s not funny, not a joke about historical bad guys)

Prior to the French Revolution, during the period of the “ancien regime”, French society and parliament was composed of three “Estates.” The First Estate was the clergy, the Second Estate was the Nobility and the last, Third Estate, included the rest of us. By labeling themselves the “Fourth Estate” journalists were saying they were lower than everyone else socially. (I guess that was when a journalist took his profession seriously enough to tell the truth.)

I disagree, the media should do its job and start challenging him on this. The only reason he does this, and gets away with it, is because he’s never challenged to provide proof. In the Romney incident, the press never challenged him on it, they just reported what he said.

I suppose, to a certain extent, that’s wrong, but the fact is their job requires them to get to the truth and, when you know the Senate Majority Leader is lying, you should be exposing those lies. Our press is so morally bankrupt printing their newspapers and airing their news broadcasts is a waste of space.

bflat879 on April 5, 2014 at 4:16 PM

I disagree. Reid’s insane rantings should be quoted ad nauseum. He should be held up as the exemplar of how low our Congress has sunk. He should be the poster boy for out of control, out of touch, out of his freaking mind government. People should be reminded every day of the lies he spread about Romney, the Koch’s and all the other people he has abused his power and privilege to smear. Of the personal vendettas he has used his power to indulge in. Of the corrupt career that has made him fabulously rich while acting as our “public servant.”